One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Big Lake you should be able to estimate when to plant tithonia.

Planting Calendar for Tithonia

Frost tolerance for tithonia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant tithonia until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant tithonia in Big Lake is May. However, you really should wait until June if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant tithonia and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your tithonia may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your tithonia indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Big Lake the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Big Lake is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Big Lake you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your tithonia if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Big Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Big Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Lake.